Alex Mierke-Zatwarnicki

Welcome! 

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University's Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. I previously held postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and the European University Institute. I received my Ph.D. in Government from Harvard in Fall 2023.

My research focuses on the organizational foundations of party politics. Taking a macro-historical, mixed-methods approach, I examine how parties build coalitions across social groups, how they mobilize identities into electoral competition, and how these dynamics have evolved since the mass party era.

I am currently finishing up my first book manuscript, Solidarity Lost, which analyzes how challenger parties across Western Europe have used identity politics to break into party competition for over a century. My other ongoing work focuses on the organizational basis of the emerging educational divide and parties' group-based appeals. You can read more about my work here.

I have held visiting positions at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, and the Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship. I received my B.A. from the University of British Columbia and M.A. from the University of Toronto, both in political science.

Outside of work, I am an avid reader and crafter and love nothing more than a quiet day at the lake. I am originally from Vancouver, Canada and currently live in Nashville, Tennessee.